March on Stress News

Trauma treatment for the victims of the Sousse Beach massacre

Added on the 17th August 2015

A new piece in The Independent has asked whether the trauma treatment for victims of the massacre on Sousse Beach in Tunisia in June 2015 is right.

The article discussed the approach of using trauma trained counsellors in the aftermath of an incident, an approach which goes against the guidelines set out by NICE (the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence).

Professor Neil Greenberg, March on Stress Director and trauma expert, features in the piece and commented: “This is something I feel very passionately about. In the early stages – we're talking in the first month – the vast majority of people do not need trauma counselling. In fact, they are more likely to be damaged by it than they are to be helped.

“Most people need access to good social support, which comes from all the sources you and I would normally use and trust – our friends, our colleagues, our work mates, maybe our GP, maybe a priest. But having outsiders come in, particularly if they were 'forced upon you' – people suggesting counselling rather than you going to get it – is a really bad idea."